An adult who works in a Montessori environment at any level, first of all, will have taken a training course to understand the approach and the “curriculum”. Learning how to give a child information on how to use Montessori materials for self-guided learning is the easy part. The more challenging aspect of our training has to do with the intangible aspects. We have to become aware of our own prejudices/ideas/training around children’s education. We must, as Montessori said, “look for the child who is not yet there.” In other words, we must hold an image of a child’s potential constantly in our mind, while having no true idea of each and every child’s potential. We must come to a deep understanding of the importance of the prepared environment which supports a child’s self-learning. This environment must be complete, attractive and appealing to a child, have all the materials, support a child’s growing independence, both functionally and intellectually.
![Montessori teacher and child](https://montessori-ami.org/sites/default/files/images/questions/prepared-adult.jpg)